Sheriff Can`t Hide His Concern As Nudists Show Their Initiative

June 04, 1985|By Michael Hirsley, Chicago Tribune.

PLAYALINDA BEACH, FLA. — A young woman named D.J. tentatively tested the water with one bare foot, then another, before proceeding into the cold surf with her entire, bare body. Her friend, bearded Titusville, Fla., contractor C.R. (``Some coworkers and supervisors frown on nudity, so there`s a little pressure to stay anonymous``) only got his feet wet.

Taken within sight of Cape Canaveral launching pads from which astronauts have been sent to the moon, these were small steps for D.J. and C.R.

But were they giant steps for nudekind?

Brevard County Sheriff Jake Wilson is afraid so.

``Nudists are definitely getting a foothold here,`` said the sheriff, regretfully.

Playalinda is a public beach in Canaveral National Seashore Park, a federal wildlife area. A flurry of recent activity, including an unfounded rumor of a federal directive friendly to nudists, has Wilson concerned that he and his deputies might be all that is left to hold the beachhead north of Titusville against unbridled human flesh.

``Unfortunately, people are going to be arrested here because they are ignorant of the law,`` Wilson said. ``Nudity is against Florida state law.``

The sheriff is well versed on the law, state and federal. And therein the tanning lines become blurred.

Nudity is not against federal law; but federal land is not exempt from state law. Users of national parks and beaches are subject to arrest by state and local law officers.

A few nudists here, and more on beaches in Volusia County to the north, have been arrested on disorderly conduct charges for removing their clothing. One couple still are appealing in the courts their 1982 arrest.

At the far north end of the beach, on the east side of a simple bridge bearing the space age designation ``Camera Pad 10 crossover,`` is an area where a few natives have gone for years to sunbathe in the nude.

Word spread, and so did the nudists` turf. On some weekends last year, as many as 1,000 shed their clothes on the beach here.

In response, the Park Service encouraged county deputies to crack down on nude sunbathing. No longer, said Linwood Jackson, assistant superintendent of the national park.

He denied reports of a new federal directive concerning nudists at the country`s 10 national seashore parks. ``We are operating under the same guidelines as always,`` Jackson said. ``The sheriff still has every right to come on federal property and make arrests.

``We are just not pushing the issue.``

That message, though not in writing, was encouraging to pro-nudist groups here.

``What seems to be a little different this year is that the Park Service seems more positive in recognizing us as a legitimate user group,`` said Chris Phelps, president of the Central Florida Sun Association.

``We are happy that the federal people say they (law officers) won`t be hassling anybody there anymore,`` said James Hadley, president of the American Sunbathers Association and owner of Cypress Cove nudist-resort in Kissimmee, Fla.

``Many of our members want to enjoy beaches as nature intended but felt a threat of arrest existed there. That has apparently been laid aside.``

Not true, Sheriff Miller said.

``What began as a colony of 10 to 15 nudists removed from and not bothering anybody has grown down to the public beach,`` he said. ``People have complained about going there with their children and seeing bathers with no clothes on. We can`t let that happen.

``This is the only beach on the north end of the county. We`ve got to give first priority to residents and their families, not to nudists.

``It is common knowledge that nudists attract an undesirable element, such as voyeurs and homosexual activity.``

Regulars in the nudist section of the beach--such as D.J., and Bill and Nancy, a couple from Sarasota who say they are ``not closet nudists, but professionals who don`t know how our associates would react if we told them``--call the sheriff`s characterizations unfair.

``I think we police ourselves, because we want to keep the privilege,``

D.J. said. ``We don`t like the crowds, either, but all this publicity attracts more people, and that is not our fault.``

Bill and Nancy were vacationing at Cypress Cove when they heard about Playalinda.

``We didn`t come over here because we`re exhibitionists. We came here because of the vastness of beach and horizon,`` Bill said.

``Here, you don`t feel like you`re fenced in, apart from the rest of the world.``

Two uniformed workers drove past slowly on a small tractor. Watching them as they watched her, Nancy said, ``It`s just too bad there`s no gate at this north end that says, `Leave your clothes here or stay out.` ``

Sheriff Miller wouldn`t mind seeing such a sign dividing the beaches; but he stressed that no area of a public beach can be designated for a private group.

Told of Jackson`s statement that the Park Service no longer is pressing the nudity issue, Miller said, ``We were hoping to get some help from the federal people, but it looks like it`s just up to us.`` And that, he said, will probably mean arrests.

``As long as these sunbathers keep out of sight of other bathers, we would not bother them,`` he said. ``A few nudists way up on the north end was no problem.